

38 Rectal temperature also often fails to accurately reflect core temperature under other circumstances including heat stroke. Rectal temperature therefore completely failed in one of its key purposes, helping diagnose malignant hyperthermia ( fig. Within 30 min, pulmonary artery and esophageal temperatures were nearly 40☌ and the animals near death, but rectal temperatures were essentially unchanged.

For example, consider swine the size of adult humans having malignant hyperthermia crises. But they are poor indicators of core temperature. 37 The “intermediate” nature of these sites can be helpful for assessing the adequacy of peripheral rewarming during cardiopulmonary bypass. Bladder temperature especially lags core temperature when urine flow is low. In contrast, bladder and rectal temperatures are less reliable because both sites are poorly perfused and thus appreciably lag core temperature during rapid thermal perturbations.
#Core body temp monitor skin
Because of lateral convection of heat by blood, the column typically extends only about a centimeter below the skin surface-but on the forehead, that is deep enough to approximate core temperature. When these conditions are met, temperature of the core and thermometer are identical. In theory, after some minutes of equilibration, a column of tissue at the same temperature will extend from the core to the skin surface below the zero-heat-flux thermometer.

In the presence of a zero-heat-flux thermometer, heat flowing toward the covered surface cannot escape through the perfect insulator and therefore accumulates below the device. Normally, there is a thermal gradient from the body core, where most heat is generated to the skin surface. Because there is no temperature gradient across the insulator, there can be no flow of heat, making the entire system a perfect insulator. The temperature of the heater is servo-controlled to keep both thermometers at the same temperature. One thermometer is positioned between the skin surface and the lower surface of the insulator, and the other between the upper surface of the insulator and the heater. Zero-heat-flux systems consist of two thermometers separated by an insulator, covered by a heater.
